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Most of Aiken's dialogue was taken verbatim from Stowe's novel, and his adaptation included four full musical numbers written by the producer, George C. Howard. Another legacy of Aiken's version is its reliance upon very different locations all portrayed on the same stage. This reliance led to large sets and set a precedent for the future days of film. By focusing on the stark and desperate situations of his characters, Aiken appealed to the emotions of his audiences. By combining this melodramatic approach with the content of Stowe's novel, Aiken helped to create a powerful visual indictment against the institution of slavery.
20:
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88:—"Tom shows"—began to appear while the story itself was still being serialized. These plays varied tremendously in their politics—some faithfully reflected Stowe's sentimentalized antislavery politics, while others were more moderate, or even pro-slavery. A number of the productions also featured songs by
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Showmen felt that Stowe's novel had a flaw in that there was no clearly defined comic character, so there was no role for a comedian, and consequently little relief from the tragedy. Eventually it was found that the minor character of Marks the Lawyer could be played as a broad caricature for laughs,
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told Tom's own story. The two were ultimately combined in an unprecedented evening-long six-act play. According to Lott, it is generally faithful to Stowe's novel, although it plays down the trickster characters of Sam and Andy and variously adds or expands the roles of some farcical white characters
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The version by Aiken is perhaps the best known stage adaptation, released just a few months after the novel was published. This six-act behemoth also set an important precedent by being the first show on
Broadway to stand on its own, without the performance of other entertainments or any afterpiece.
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aspects of the book and Stowe's criticisms of capitalism, and turned her anti-slavery politics into anti-Southern sectionalism. Francis
Underwood, a contemporary, wrote that Aiken's play had also lost the "lightness and gayety" of Stowe's book. Nonetheless, Lott argues, the plays increased sympathy
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Ed by
Stephen Railton, covers 1830 to 1930, offering links to primary and bibliographic sources on the cultural background, various editions, and public reception of Harriet Beecher Stowe's influential novel. The site also provides the full text of the book, audio and video clips, and examples of
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was the best-selling novel of the 19th century, far more
Americans of that time saw the story in a stage play or musical than read the book. In 1902, it was reported that a quarter million of these presentations had already been performed in the United States. Some of these shows were essentially
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115:, whose antislavery politics closely matched those of Stowe, tried and failed to get her permission to stage an official version; her refusal left the field clear for any number of adaptations, some launched for (various) political reasons and others as simply commercial theatrical ventures.
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being the most-filmed story of that time period). This was due to the continuing popularity of both the book and "Tom shows," meaning audiences were already familiar with the characters and the plot, making it easier for the film to be understood without spoken words.
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399:. This version was similar to many of the "Tom Shows" of earlier decades and featured a large number of black stereotypes (such as having the slaves dance in almost any context, including at a slave auction).
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only loosely based on the novel, and their grossly exaggerated caricatures of black people further perpetuated, for purposes of mockery, some of the stereotypes that Stowe had used more innocently.
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in New York
November 7, 1853. Its politics were much more moderate. Sam and Andy become, in Lott's words, "buffoons". Criticism of slavery was placed largely in the mouth of a newly introduced
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231:. Even this most sympathetic of "Tom shows" clearly borrowed heavily from minstrelsy: not only were the slave roles all played by white actors in blackface, but
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which was one of the first "full length" movies. The still shows Eliza telling Uncle Tom that she has been sold and that she is running away to save her child.
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character, a reporter named
Penetrate Partyside. St. Clare's role was expanded, and turned into more of a pro-slavery advocate, articulating the politics of a
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for the slaves among the
Northern white working class (which had been somewhat alienated from the abolitionist movement by its perceived elitist backing).
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mode of slavery, not an abuse of the system by a cheater). Beyond this, Conway gave his play a happy ending, with Tom and various other slaves freed.
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of black people, and thus inverting the intent of the novel. "Tom shows" were popular in the United States from the 1850s through the early 1900s.
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which was one of the earliest "full-length" movies (although "full-length" at that time meant between 10 and 14 minutes). This film, directed by
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dressing him in foppish clothes, often equipped with a dainty umbrella. Some productions even had him make an entrance mounted astride a pig.
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Eliza crossing the ice, in an 1881 theater poster for a production by the
Jarrett & London Company and Slavin's Original American Troupe.
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The influence of the "Tom shows" can be found in a number of plays from the 1850s: most obviously, C.W. Taylor's dramatization of Stowe's
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Several of the early film versions of Uncle Tom's Cabin were essentially filmed versions of "Tom shows." These included:
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According to Eric Lott, even those "Tom shows" which stayed relatively close to Stowe's novel played down the
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reviewer described him as "decidedly the best personator of negro character who has appeared in any drama."
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Museum. Lott mentions numerous "offshoots, parodies, thefts, and rebuttals" including a full-scale play by
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University of
Virginia Web site "Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture: A Multi-Media Archive"
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The first serious attempt at anything like a faithful stage adaptation was a one-hour play by
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565:, Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture, a Multi-Media Archive, accessed April 19, 2007.
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reported that his defiant speech received "great cheers" from an audience of Bowery
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and other types of live variety entertainment, "Tom shows" slowly disappeared.
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Stowe herself never authorized dramatization of her work, because of her
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The First Uncle Tom's Cabin Film: Edison-Porter's
Slavery Days (1903)
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Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class
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Love and Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class
445:"People & Events: Uncle Tom's Cabin Takes the Nation by Storm"
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537:. New York: Performing Arts Journal Publications, 1983, p. 16.
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Staging the Nation: Plays from the American Theater, 1787–1909
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The influence of the "Tom shows" also carried over into the
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focused almost entirely on Little Eva (played by child star
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Uncle Tomitudes: Racial Melodrama and Modes of Production
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distrust of drama (although she did eventually go to see
450:, The American Experience, PBS, accessed April 19, 2007.
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All "Tom shows" appear to have incorporated elements of
494:. The information on "Tom shows" comes from chapter 8:
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instead. It also focuses heavily on George Harris; the
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The North and the South; or, Slavery and Its Contrasts
171:. Rice, famous in the 1830s for his comic and clearly
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The Death of Uncle Tom, or the Religion of the Lonely
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Plays loosely based on the novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'.
52:. The novel attempts to depict the harsh reality of
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590:"Duping" Porter: Sigmund Lubin's Production (1903)
460:Uncle Tom's Cabin on the American Stage and Screen
288:Uncle Tom's Cabin as It Is: The Southern Uncle Tom
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395:in the major roles and black performers only as
402:Another film version from 1903 was directed by
1037:Harriet Beecher Stowe House (Brunswick, Maine)
462:by John W. Frick, Macmillan US, 2016 page xiv.
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42:based (often only loosely) on the 1852 novel
925:The Cabin and Parlor; or, Slaves and Masters
486:. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
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197:The best-known "Tom Shows" were those of
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254:the same day Aiken's opened in Troy;
282:Diluting the message of Stowe's book
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772:A Key to Uncle Tom's Cabin
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524:. New York: Garland, 1993.
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34:is a general term for any
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406:and starred Lubin as
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430:References and notes
424:Goodbye to Uncle Tom
340:, and a play called
175:blackface character
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960:The Leopard's Spots
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819:Uncle Tom's Cabaña
700:(Thanhouser, 1910)
610:2007-06-11 at the
548:American Melodrama
535:American Melodrama
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385:Uncle Tom's Cabin,
383:A 1903 version of
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369:silent film
355:Still from
344:, based on
322:, but also
256:P.T. Barnum
203:H.J. Conway
161:C.W. Taylor
133:Productions
105:puritanical
74:stereotypes
1052:Categories
663:Characters
416:vaudeville
371:era (with
154:minstrelsy
787:Animation
670:Uncle Tom
546:Gerould,
393:blackface
314:Influence
292:Baltimore
169:T.D. Rice
151:blackface
147:melodrama
124:blackface
80:The shows
58:Uncle Tom
778:Tom show
608:Archived
307:feminist
177:Jim Crow
32:Tom show
995:Dimples
970:Related
54:slavery
40:musical
830:(1953)
822:(1947)
814:(1937)
806:(1933)
798:(1931)
756:(1987)
748:(1965)
740:(1927)
732:(1927)
724:(1918)
716:(1914)
692:(1903)
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397:extras
272:normal
264:Yankee
252:Boston
187:, the
173:racist
1068:Drama
488:ISBN
320:Dred
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